Yonkers Joe (2008)

Family life gets in the way of a con man's search for the perfect scam.

Director:

Robert Celestino

Writer:

Robert Celestino

Stars:

Chazz Palminteri, Michael Lerner, Nate Bynum

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chazz Palminteri	...	Yonkers Joe
Michael Lerner	...	Stanley
Nate Bynum	...	Technician
Frank John Hughes	...	Tom Vincent
Christine Lahti	...	Janice
Patrick Hughes	...	Polo Shirt
Lauri Johnson	...	Hammer
Roma Maffia	...	Irene Santini
Tom Guiry	...	Joe Jr.
Michael Rispoli	...	Mickey
Linus Roache	...	Teddy
John 'Fastjack' Farrell	...	Fitz (as John 'Fast Jack' Farrell)
Michael A. Rizza	...	Poker Player #2 (as Michael Rizza)
Anthony Tarantola	...	Heavy #1
Rusty Meyers	...	Committee Man

Storyline

Yonkers Joe hustles, setting up schemes to cheat at cards and dice. He has a girlfriend, Janice, but does he care about her or just need a partner in his cons? He's working out a scam of casinos, gathering intelligence in Atlantic City. The fly in the ointment is his son, Joe Jr., a mentally-challenged young man about to turn 21, aging out of a group home, belligerent as the move to an adult home and his father's lack of contact upset him. Joe Jr.'s counselor insists that Joe take his son for awhile to calm him down and prepare him for the transfer. Can a mentally-challenged, unloved kid make his way with grifters? Can a father discover new emotions? What about scamming the casinos?

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title

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Taglines:

When you're this good luck has nothing to do with it.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 January 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,073 (USA) (9 January 2009)

Gross:

$4,983 (USA) (23 January 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

GO Productions, Trent Othick Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Great Film with Top Performances

This is a great film with some really exceptional performances. I caught the film at TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL in April and like many audience members was intrigued to find out that actor Tom Guiry didn't have Down Syndrome. He was very believable in the role of Joe Jr and Chazz Palminteri and Christine Lahti were also amazing. The gambling scenes were different than anything I have seen before and were very suspenseful. The film also was full of emotion which left some audience members in tears at the end. In the Q and A with Director Bob Celestino, audience members were very enthusiastic about what they had seen and asked many questions that the director answered graciously. Someone asked if this story was based on someone as the director just looked at them and smiled which was kind of a mysterious way to end the Q and A. A great film. Go see it.